The Gift
by ms17thst
Summary: The OC from Rules - Gloria Brown, RN gets a frantic call from HG.


The more substantial story is coming slowly - and since this OC is in it, I thought I'd post a one shot with her. She originally appears in Rules as Helena's nurse and this is just something that came to mind. As always - I appreciate your posts, questions and ideas. I hope you enjoy this.

* * *

**The Gift**

**"True friends are the people who are there for you unconditionally. They are the people who never question you and support you no matter what the circumstances are. They are the people worth living for."**  
**-Unknown**

* * *

Gloria put her cell phone down and took a deep breath. She looked at the clock on the wall and was surprised that nearly twenty minutes had passed since she took the call. The middle aged woman had uttered the same two words repeatedly, but to no avail. "_Now Helena_," was practically all she got out as HG explained thoroughly why her presence was needed at the house that instant, if not sooner. No matter how many different ways she tried to present her protest, it was cast aside like gossamer by the Brit's sharp retorts. "_If you don't want to tell her, then put her on the phone_," Helena said when Gloria explained she would need to ask Dr. Calder if she could leave early. That was enough to make HG go into an emotional tailspin. No matter how Gloria …or Artie …. tried to explain that there was a chain of command with the Warehouse medical staff, just as there was with the Warehouse agent staff, it fell on deaf ears. Helena was the first of them to interact with the nurse and from that moment, Helena decided she was hers. When the woman was invited to join the Warehouse staff, Helena determined Gloria accepted because it meant she would be near… Helena. It wasn't that HG was being egotistical; it simply made sense to her and so, that is how she proceeded. That the woman reported to Vanessa Calder in HG's mind, was simply a formality that was to be followed _in absentia_. When Helena needed her, all protocol was dismissed.

Gloria had an abundance of patience. You didn't practice nursing for thirty years or raise two ambitious sons as a single parent without it, but there were times when Helena G. Wells nearly drained the woman of that supply. Helena didn't call her for medical emergencies – that, the good doctor could have understood. She didn't even call for emotional consolation - at least that, the nurse would have understood. Gloria tried to explain that while she was at work, Helena should only request her presence at true emergencies and if it could wait, she would come after work. The tone of the phone call was nothing short of catastrophe, and it took Gloria several minutes to get Helena to bring the volume down to a low roar as she explained her dilemma. Correction – _their_ dilemma.

* * *

Gloria bit her lower lip and knocked on the doctor's door. Vanessa smiled warmly as Gloria entered and stopped reading _The New England Journal of Medicine _that was open on her desk.

"Everything okay, Gloria?" Vanessa asked reading the tension on the woman's face.

"Oh everything is fine with me, thank you," Gloria said taking the seat in front of the desk. And then she said the last three words the doctor wanted to hear; "It's Agent Wells."

The first dozen times or so this happened, Dr. Calder worried HG was sick. She monitored her carefully, given that she was their test case when it came to someone bronzed and then debronzed, had her mind and body separated for a time and was a 19th century body living in the 21st century environment. Now when Gloria articulated those words, Vanessa sighed.

"Now what?" she asked, taking her reading glasses off and sitting back in the leather chair.

"It seems Agent Wells is ….feeling …..…..," Gloria said slowly, selecting the right words carefully. "…._overwhelmed,_" she finally picked.

"Agent Wells overwhelmed? Did someone take her parking spot in town? Did Leena not steep the tea long enough? " Vanessa asked and laughed. This would have sounded sarcastic from someone else's lips, but Vanessa did have affection for the Brit.

"No," Gloria laughed and hoped that would be the end of it, but the doctor's raised eyebrows indicated that she wanted more.

"She would like me to come over now," Gloria said and noticed the immediate change in the other woman's body. She folded her hands over the magazine and leaned across the desk.

"Gloria, we have talked about this before. Agent Wells cannot call you at any moment of the day to handle God knows what. What is it this time?" Vanessa asked and her tone wasn't harsh at all.

"There seems to be a dispute at the house between Agent Wells and the others," Gloria said.

"I feel bad for the others. The other agents? Not Artie I hope. His blood pressure is high enough," Vanessa said highlighting her main concern.

"No I don't believe Agent Nielsen is involved in this at the moment," Gloria said because HG had not mentioned his name in her rant.

"Good, see if you can keep it that way," the doctor said.

"So it's okay if I go?" Gloria asked hoping she had heard permission in that remark.

"Do I really have a choice?" Vanessa answered shaking her head.

"Thank you, doctor," Gloria said and got up to leave.

"Please review this with Helena once you've saved her from whatever doom is lurking over there. You are not at her beckon call, Gloria. And we need to help Agent Wells understand that," Vanessa said.

Gloria smiled and said "Oh I will," - meaning it.

Gloria practiced her speech, sometimes out loud, in the car on the way there. '_Now Helena_,' she said more than once as she tried to find the right words to get her points across. '_You can't just call me and demand that I come every time_,' the woman said emphatically as she sat behind the wheel at the red light. She felt someone's eyes on her and slowly turned to the left. The passenger in the car next to her just stared, and Gloria smiled uncomfortably and let them pull off ahead. _They'd understand if they knew her_, the nurse thought.

* * *

Helena had counted on Gloria coming, of that there was no doubt, but she didn't expect the other agents to beat her to greet the woman. The others stood outside like the welcoming committee.

'_Even Myka_?' Gloria thought and decided maybe this was an emergency.

Pete opened the door and extended his hand to help the woman out, but mostly so he could tell her his side first. "Gloria, ok look. You got to do something okay. She won't listen to any of us. I mean, she won't even listen to Myka!" he said and his tone matched Gloria's surprise. Helena not listening to Myka was ….. unusual.

"She's out of control," Claudia said and then upon hearing her own words added, "Oh God, we sound like Artie."

Gloria listened more to their tone than their words and then looked at Myka. In all the time she knew them, Myka was the one who wore the truth on her sleeve. She wasn't just the most mature of the group; she was the caretaker – looking out for everyone else. She was always the first to apologize – even when none was necessary.

"I'm sorry she made you come all the way out here," Myka said hugging the woman. "Dr. Calder must have loved that."

"Oh don't worry none about Doctor Calder. She knows what we're dealing with," Gloria said with a soft chuckle.

"Still, there really was no reason to make you come out here," Myka said.

"She said it was of the utmost importance and insisted. You know how she is when she insists," Gloria said taking Myka's arm as they walked to the house.

"Oh yes," Myka said quite familiar with that state.

"She won't listen to any of us. She's stormed off, but I think that's because she wasn't winning the argument," Claudia said.

"Oh oh, Helena not winning? Lord, I see why she thought it was so dire. Am I the backup?" Gloria laughed.

"If you are, you're fraternizing with the enemy," Myka said softly.

Gloria knew better than anyone that Myka was never the '_enemy_' where HG was concerned.

"You got to talk some sense into her, please!" begged the youngest member of the group.

"What she done this time?" Gloria asked, knowing what the odds were.

Pete and Claudia started to explain but they were canceling each other out in the nurse's ears. She tried to get it, but it was just mumble jumble to her. She looked at Myka.

"Helena wants to do things her way and…..," Myka trailed off.

"Artie isn't here, is he?" Gloria asked with concern.

"No, not yet," Pete said. "Why?"

"Well I promised Doctor Calder to keep an eye on his blood pressure, so let's see if we can resolve this mystery before he arrives," Gloria said, still treating the matter lightly. She raised her head only to be met by the steely stare of the accused.

"Well there she is," Gloria said smiling on the edge of laughing.

Helena stood there with arms crossed; her nostrils flaring over something Gloria was sure was nothing. Myka slowly let go of the woman's arm – not to provoke HG any more than she appeared.

"Well good," Helena said. "I'm glad you heard their side of it first. It will make it easier for you to decipher the truth and instruct them of their errors."

"Well you know I won't render a decision until I hear your side, Helena," Gloria said and HG drew back in response.

"Render a bloody decision? There is no decision to be rendered, my dear woman. There is only the truth to be told. And the truth is, they are wrong," HG said.

"Why is everything _bloody_ with you?" Gloria asked and Pete cracked up laughing. No one spoke to Helena the way Gloria did. She walked up the stairs now and took Helena by the arm.

"But I wanted you to tell them ….," HG started, but Gloria interrupted her.

"Oh I know, sweetie, I know. But how can I do anything until I hear the whole story? I would never want to …what is it that you want me to do again?" Gloria asked calmly.

"What do I…..? What do I want…? Didn't I explain this all on the phone before?" Helena asked exasperated. "I want you to explain to them how unreasonable they are being? How they took a perfectly good idea and …." HG said stopping short of finishing.

"Oh yes, I remember you mentioned that," Gloria said, looking back at Myka and winking. "Even Myka?" she asked. That question made HG uncomfortable and she hesitated.

"It would seem Agent Bering, in what I can only assume was a moment of temporary weakness, has sided with the others," HG said, not looking anyone in the eye.

"Temporary weakness? I see," repeated Gloria.

"Wait until you see what she did," Pete yelled out and HG glared at him.

Gloria wondered quietly what the collective emotional age of the group was.

"Now you're in trouble," Pete said as he, Myka and Claudia made their way into the house.

* * *

Gloria was glad they shut the door. It gave her a minute alone with Helena.

"So what did they do, Helena?" the nurse asked.

Now that she was alone, she wanted to skip to the part where she told HG not to call her at the office, as she was certain this was nothing more than HG not getting her way.

"I had an idea – a brilliant idea. Well, most of mine are actually," Helena said getting lost in truth of that statement.

"And?" Gloria said sitting down on the long bench on the porch.

"Oh yes, well I had this idea to do something and they – my supposed faithful colleagues and friends agreed it was a good idea, but it was taking too long so they took it over," HG complained.

"You had a good idea and they took it over? Is that right?" the nurse asked wondering how this constituted an emergency.

"Well yes, that's a rather light summary, but the general idea," HG conceded.

"Helena, I'm having a little trouble believing you let anyone take over anything," Gloria said.

"They said they knew more about it and that my ideas were….. outdated," HG said and Gloria swore she could hear hurt in those words.

"Outdated? Oh," Gloria said finally getting that this seemed to have something to do with the gap in Helena's time periods. "OK, let's take a look-see," the nurse said extending her hand in the direction of the house.

"OK but remember this – it was all my idea and I should have been able to carry it out as I saw fit, " HG hesitated at the door.

"Oh Lord this is gonna be good," Gloria said lowering her head. "What kinda mess did you make this time?"

"Pardon me?" Helena said hands placed squarely on her hips.

Gloria knew immediately she had offended the woman with her slip. Now she felt caught between a rock and a Helena, and she knew the rock was the more pliable of the two.

"Helena….," Gloria started to say.

"Fine! See for yourself. I know you'll see I am right in an instant," HG said flinging the door wide and stepping inside.

* * *

Gloria followed her in and expected to see wires and gadgets hanging from the walls, but all seemed quiet and normal at the B&B.

"It's in the dining room," HG said stiffly and waved for Gloria to walk ahead of her.

They went through the living room where again, all seemed calm and in order.

Gloria was starting to think she should have that little talk with Helena that she promised Doctor Calder she would have – the one she rehearsed all the way there. Then the Brit did something that got to Gloria every single time –

"I do appreciate you coming," Helena said sincerely - hands behind her back, pushing up on her toes.

Gloria didn't care who had a problem with her leaving now. Helena appreciated her presence and that is all that mattered. She couldn't explain her connection with HG - and she didn't need to.

"Let's see ….," Gloria said as she opened the swinging door to the dining room and was greeted with the thunderous - '_SURPRISE_' – from everyone in the room. Gloria literally jumped backward into Helena's opened arms – she knew the woman would be startled.

There on the table was a birthday cake decorated with unlit candles. Plates were set on the table and a large _Happy Birthday Gloria_ sign adorned the door. A large bouquet of Mylar balloons were attached to the chairs. And then Gloria looked up. There were different colored paper chain garlands adorning the chandelier over the table and strung out to the walls. Gloria stopped to look at how intricate the paper decorations were – some were geometric designs, others looked like star cutouts and others resembled lace. Helena saw Gloria taking it all in.

"I designed them myself," the Brit said proudly.

"Not outdated at all," Gloria said, taken in with their delicate structure. She could only imagine how long it would take someone to make them.

"See!" HG said to her friends.

Truth was, it took Helena forever to make the intricate designs, and so the others took over the rest of the decorating. With only hours before the party, HG had not given much thought to the cake, the food, how to get Gloria's gift to the house or anything else. She was a little taken aback when the others insisted on helping out. Myka tried to tell her that the paper decorations were lovely, no - really lovely, but that there still was a lot to be done. Pete gave her the short version – _they're old fashion_, he put it bluntly. HG went to argue, but time was dwindling down and they still had not figured out how to get Gloria to the house without raising suspicion.

When Helena complained to them about taking sides against her, Myka decided that they should use that to get Gloria to the house. She was certain of two things; one –that Gloria would come as soon as HG asked, and two, they would get more done if Helena could just express her frustration on the phone to Gloria. She was right about both. Helena put her heart and soul into explaining the dilemma and a part of her wanted nothing more than for Gloria to give them all a piece of her mind over calling HG's decorations – _nice but ____too labor intensive._

"They're beautiful," Gloria said about the Brit's work. "But how …. Who told you?" Gloria asked wondering how anyone knew it was her birthday.

"There are no secrets with these people," Artie said giving the woman her first birthday hug.

"It wasn't me," Vanessa said smiling and hugging the nurse.

"You knew?" she asked the doctor who did a good job of pulling this off.

"Guilty," Vanessa said. Gloria turned to take in everything. Claudia and Pete rushed to hug her next.

"We knew you would totally fall for HG being obnoxious," Pete said and then turned quickly to make sure Helena wasn't armed.

Myka grabbed the woman next. "It was all Helena's idea," Myka said giving credit where credit was due. "Oh except the part about how we got you here. That was my idea," Myka confessed.

Leena came over next and hugged the woman warmly. "It is so good to see you," she said to Gloria. Gloria didn't let go of the younger woman. "It is really good to see you," Gloria said feeling a strong pull towards Leena, as if something were off kilter. "Are you okay?" she asked Leena. "Oh yes, just tired from having all this _help_ in the kitchen."

"Happy birthday, dear friend," HG said warmly embracing the woman who did not let go of her. How she appreciated all of these people, but especially the woman in her arms.

"I don't know what to say," Gloria said.

"Well that actually might be a first," Helena said teasing the woman.

"Oh you," Gloria replied.

"Blow out the candles," Pete yelled because he had been waiting for this cake for hours.

Leena and Artie lit them and the room glowed in the warmth of their light. Gloria closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and blew. Pete helped – to hasten the process. "We better get Pete some of this cake," the nurse said as she began to cut the first slice. Myka watched as she wiped a tear from her eye, trying not to be conspicuous.

"Helena, I think you should give Gloria her gift," Myka said reading the woman.

"Ah yes," Helena said and everyone went silent.

"We weren't sure what to get the woman who refuses to say she needs anything, so we procured the one think we knew you would love," HG said.

"Now listen, this is all enough," Gloria said pointing to the cake and decorations. "I do not need…,"

"Really? What about your birthday wish?" Helena asked and drew Gloria's stare_. How could she possible know what Gloria wished for? _

"Boys," Helena called out and the door to the kitchen swung open.

There stood Gloria's two college aged sons – Jack and Sam Jr.

"Mama," the younger boy said and went straight to her. The older boy hugged them both as Gloria lost all composure and cried. She hadn't seen them in four months – since school started after the holidays. "Oh my word," was all she kept saying as she hugged them and touched their faces, to make sure they were really there. "How did y'all get here?" she asked amazed to see them.

"Agent Wells sent us plane tickets," Jack said smiling.

"She said we couldn't miss it," Sam Jr. said.

"Nor could I," Mrs. Frederic said from the doorway. Pete stopped mid-bite at the sight of his boss. Somehow, celebration and Mrs. Frederic didn't go together.

"As you were, Agent Latimer – please," Mrs. Frederic said for the benefit of the group.

"Happy Birthday, Nurse Brown," the Sage said warmly. "Nice decorations, Agent Wells," she added noting the complicated designs.

Helena turned to her friends with a '_see?_' look written all over.

* * *

Myka and Helena sat next to the birthday guest as she imbibed a much needed glass of Leena's special punch.

"So this was all a trick to get me here?" the nurse smiled at the younger women.

"Well, it was a surprise and in order to assure that there would be the element of astonishment, we needed a subterfuge to assure that you would be present without full disclosure of the details," Helena explained in her vernacular.

"So many words to say _yes_," Gloria said staring right at her mouth and Myka nearly spit out her drink. Myka excused herself to get a napkin.

"Helena, thank you for the best birthday party I have ever had," the older woman said sincerely

"You are very welcomed," HG said back, sipping on tea

"How did you know what my wish was, Helena?" Gloria asked her friend.

"Don't be absurd," Helena replied as if the explanation should be clear. "I am a mother, too," HG whispered into Gloria's ear and then shot up from the chair as if the emotion that came with that statement was too much.

* * *

Gloria's sons took seats next to her. "I can't believe you're here," she said touching their hands.

"We're here for the weekend. Agent Wells said we are all going out to dinner tomorrow night, and Pete is taking us tomorrow to the air show over at Kennedy Fields, if that's okay with you," Jack said.

"Oh yes, that would just fine," Gloria said, smiling at how her families were melding together.

"Agent Wells is funny," Sam Jr. said -in between bites of his third piece of cake.

"Funny? Lord, she's been called a lot of things, but I don't reckon _funny_ was one of them," Gloria said more to herself.

"She said if we ever caused you any trouble, we'd have her to answer to," the younger son explained.

Gloria laughed out loud at the statement, but couldn't say she wasn't surprised by it. Later when she had a moment alone with Helena, she mentioned it to her.

* * *

"So if either of those boys gives their mama any trouble, I should just call you, eh?" Gloria asked.

"What I meant was, you are a busy woman with a very important job, and you have no time for nonsense. Of course they should call you if it is serious, but they're practically grown men and need to navigate their way in the world. It was sound advice," Helena said.

"Oh yes, it was," Gloria said, patting Helena's hand as if she needed soothing.

The middle aged woman knew in her heart exactly what - _'important job_' - Helena was referring to, and it had nothing to do with her work with Doctor Calder. How complex a person Helena was – she understood a mother's wish to be with her children, and yet there was a part of her that needed mothering, too.

* * *

The weekend passed too quickly for Gloria Brown, who enjoyed every moment of seeing her flesh and blood get to know the people she cared so much about. They adopted Pete like an older brother and teased him about being so old. They traded tech secrets with Claudia about social media sites. They argued at night who Myka liked better. They put Pete to shame with how much they ate of Leena's home cooking and were so polite, even Pete told them to take it down a notch. They loved how Helena spoke and were grateful for her putting this whole weekend together. Neither would admit it, but both were a little intimidated by the dark eyed beauty.

Myka and HG drove Gloria and her sons to the airport Sunday night. It was a short flight to the other side of South Dakota where they attended school.

"Mama look at this," Jack said showing Gloria a book and Sam took one out too. "She gave us autographed copies of _The Time Traveler_ and _The Invisible Man_. Do you know how rare an authentic HG Wells is?" he asked his mother.

Gloria smiled at the thoughtful gifts. "Oh yes believe me, I know how rare HG Wells is, yes I do." She kissed her favorite birthday gifts goodbye and watched them go through the security gates. Then she joined Myka and Helena and went back to the car.

"So what exactly did you think was going on when HG called you?" Myka inquired.

"Oh you know… some big crisis," Gloria answered and HG smiled to think her ploy worked.

"Like someone ruined her tea, or wouldn't let her reprogram the coffee machine to turn on the washer, or you guys refused to be subjects in her experiment on mind control, something like that," Gloria said and waited for the predictable response.

"It is shame those boys have no role model for humor," HG said putting on her sunglasses to hide from the setting sun.

"They think you're funny," Gloria said.

"Madam, I am no such thing!" HG said before realizing what she had just declared.

"Oh don't worry none, darling, we know that," Gloria laughed and grabbed onto Myka.

"Again, not funny. Not funny a t'all," Helena replied from behind. "You know, you never did set them straight …..," HG called out getting back to her original point.

* * *

I hope it gives you a little more background into this OC. Many thanks for reading along.


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